Released six years after its predecessor, indie Halloween horror series The Barn is back.
Writer/Director Justin M. Seaman wastes no time getting us back into the action, although the time between the films has allowed him to hone his craft. The Barn Part II is a more assured effort filmmaking-wise.
How does it compare to the original? I would say Seaman takes the Gremlins 2 approach and goes for broke, opening the story up, and ensuring we can’t fully telegraph anything.
Initially it is quite cameo-heavy, with notable appearances from Joe Bob Briggs and the welcome sight of Doug Bradley back in the genre; but this doesn’t really detract too much.
We return to Helen’s Valley where the ban on Halloween has now been lifted. The unexplained disappearances of Sam and Josh plus the murders at the town barn are now largely forgotten, but after a group of girls connected to Sam and Josh want to organise a scare attraction at a local barn, the killings begin again.
Seaman, as I mentioned, knows you need to go bigger with his sequel, and thus he bulks up his rogue’s gallery with some new villains, including a pig man and an eagle human hybrid, both with a lust for blood.
Speaking of blood, you will get plenty of it with The Barn Part II, with the practical effects and the kills really fantastic and making a mockery of the limited budget they were conceived on.
The Barn Part II is a worthy sequel that ups the stakes and also leaves room for a third part, if the crew are willing to make it happen.
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